The loss of primary or secondary bony substance has always posed reconstruction problems for the orthopedic, reconstructive surgeon. Replacement parts for the entire bone system are not available in inexhaustible supply even if certain portions can be removed from donors without causing mechanical damage; e.g. the iliac crest, the epiphyses and metaphyses involving the thigh bone and the tibia for example.
The bone banks containing human or animal bone pose application technique problems and accordingly materials obtained from the bone banks have not always functioned satisfactorily. Accordingly, effort has been made to seek out substitute materials, more or less of organic origin. The materials can be either permanent or temporary. In the former case, the use of such materials results in a cellular colony, and these colonies have an initial mechanical resistance that is not negligible and resemble coral.
In the latter case, what is formed are bone-like tissues having the ability to take on the mechanical and histological characteristics of bone tissue with time and the given spacial requirements.